As the second half of 2009 unfolded, it really turned out to be a trail of breadcrumbs as economic predictions turned out to be different from reality. Lessons learned from the sour economy were being ignored as old bad habits die hard.
In July the lab results on the cause of death for Michael Jackson were made public and they found that he died of an accidental overdose of a strong sedative. It was then the world suddenly realized that we were the cause of his death by endless digging and accusations. The sedatives were being administered to compensate for our behavior. With that we suddenly realized the man in the mirror was not as we pictured ourselves in our mind. It seems we never do get over the taunting and teasing we first experience in grade school and is carried into our adult lives. In The US the Cash for Clunkers program showed that price does make a significant difference in how people shop tough times or not.
In August the swine flu was ramping up in the northern hemisphere and vaccine was not yet available. There were significant lines while a sense of false complacency about the severity of the virus was seen in some. In Pakistan the taliban were being routed out and for the most part the world saw this as long overdue action by Pakistan. It was also realized by generals on the ground that despite political promises reality often differs. President Obama’s desired military pullout would eventually lead to orders nearly doubling the number of troops in Afghanistan before the year was out.
In September it was becoming painfully obvious that banks did not care about the people that bailed them out and were charging full steam back to old ways of personal profit at the expense of others. Wall Street also was showing the same signs of not learning a lesson. The health care reform war was well underway despite all the grossly misleading spin by still others who wanted to continue raping the people. September could be defined as the month of greed and looking to keep the status quo.
In October we discovered the moon has water and that became a significant event for future off world decisions. In Iraq things were slipping backwards. As more American troops pulled out bombings and deaths were on the rise. It was just another sign of what lies ahead in Afghanistan when that pullout starts at some future date. Although not publicly admitted the facts spoke volumes that the Iraq military was falling way short and the Afghanistan Military is much worse.
In November protestors in Iran were being given death sentences for the June riots and the country became more belligerent towards anyone who wanted them to stop their nuclear ambitions. In the US there was a big push to create jobs as the employment numbers lacked far behind what was acceptable. The acknowledgment that recovery was slow was just bad news that could not be ignored.
In December the last chance climate conference in Copenhagen resulted in what were called significant agreements but still needed to be inked. Depending on where you stood it was seen as success or failure. In Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen seemed to have discovered the same funny water well that leaders of North Korea and Iran were drinking from. He was clearly stepping over lines causing damage to himself and Cambodia in they eyes of the world community.
On the bright side political correctness took a hit as more people discovered life is fine without it. But then again there were some cases that made headlines. There were some significant medical breakthroughs. Some iconic people parted ways like Walter Cronkite and Massachusetts Senator Teddy Kennedy. 2009 has clearly set the stage for significant events as we enter the second decade of this century.
And with that thought, it would be a good time to raise your drink and make a toast to better times ahead as the stroke of midnight approaches and the first sunrise of a new year greets us in the morning.
